It Pays to “Blow the Whistle”

A couple who helped uncover a tax evasion scheme won big in Tax Court. The couple claimed they were due an award of 24% of the total “collected proceeds” by the government from a taxpayer who pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the IRS by filing false returns and tax evasion. The U.S. collected $74 million from the criminal which included $20 million of repayment of taxes. The balance collected consisted of criminal fines and civil forfeitures related to his wrongdoings but payable under general U.S. law. The IRS attempted to limit the award given to the whistle-blowers to 24% of the $20 million. However, the Tax Court sided with the couple and calculated it on 24% of the full $74 million collected as the couple’s award. (Whistleblower 21276-13W,TC)